Chelsea Full-Back Davide Zappacosta Reveals Idol & Says He Started Out as a No.10

Chelsea full-back Davide Zappacosta has revealed that he began his career as a playmaker in the No.10 role during his younger days.

The Blues £22m new man, who joined from Torino on summer transfer deadline day, says he was inspired by Juventus legend Pavel Nedved, a former Czech Republic star who is now Juve director.

Zappacosta went on to play for the Old Lady’s Turin rivals, and is now trying to create his own bit of history at Stamford Bridge, having come in under countryman and former Italy boss Antonio Conte.

He hasn’t gotten off to a bad start either, scoring a worldie of a goal on his debut in the Champions League against Qarabag. That goal earned him a huge nod of approval from the fans, and the energy and enthusiasm displayed in every match since then hasn’t done him much harm.

?“My favourite player was Pavel Nedved, who was great, especially in the year that he won the Ballon d’Or,” Zappacosta said in Chelsea’s match-day programme before their match against Southampton (H/T ?Goal).

“He was a player with a big personality. He used to play with both feet, and he always gave everything in every game.

“I really liked his style of play. My first role was on the right side of midfield, but then at the age of 16, my coach decided to let me play as a ‘trequartista’, like a No10, with a bit more freedom.

“That was really good for me because I had a good run there and scored a lot of goals, which started to get me noticed.”